Curiosity Helped Us Discover The Unexplored Joy

The pandemic not only pulled our business down but also impacted us psychologically. Amidst this chaos, we tried to stay afloat by attending all sorts of webinars, managerial courses, programs, and consultants to get some perspective and break out of the pessimism.

It was a matter of survival. Our entire sales model had collapsed. Pre-pandemic, our business only happened through international trade exhibitions. Because of the pandemic, we were totally grounded. It was my curiosity through which I stumbled upon Sameerji in a webinar conducted for jewelers. Interestingly, during this session, he spoke nothing about the jewelry industry. His focus was on life and how to scale it up joyfully. This was precisely what I needed at that point in time.

While other programs focused on increasing sales, reducing expenses, and scaling up in numbers, SKC focused on personal evolution. Without thinking twice, I enrolled for the Conscious Entrepreneurship Program (CEP).?

Here are my key learnings and experiences from this program that I would like to share with you, and I hope it encourages you to evolve in your life as well:

• Time spent?for self is time well invested:

Like every other business owner, I had difficulty convincing myself to allocate time for learning and training. I mean, how can I stay away from work for two weeks! I was convinced that I needed to be physically present in the office for my business to keep running. Before CEP, I used to take work to my vacations as well. It was only with CEP tools and techniques that I realized the importance of keeping the phone switched off, cutting myself off from work, not being connected all the time, and having a DND zone. Later, I realized that it is only in these pockets of time that real inner growth takes place.

• A drastic change in my relationships:

Initially, all my desires were born out of competition and comparison, rather than my vision or purpose to scale my business. Through various tools and questionnaires, CEP? showed me a mirror. It was while filling out one such questionnaire that I realized, "Oh my God! I'm running this entire company on my shoulders, without letting anyone come close to it, including my mother and Chahat (my brother). I don't even want others to know what I'm doing."

Before CEP, I didn't have an inclusive approach at the workplace. I used to hire and fire people at my own will without understanding their professional backgrounds. It was only after CEP that I adopted an inclusive and patient attitude. My team can now notice a difference in my attitude and style of working. I now try to resolve their problems and hesitations by lending a patient ear. The working relationship between my brother and me has also improved drastically since both of us did this program together.

Above all, I have observed a significant difference in my relationship with myself. From being an angry young man to a man of realization - who is willing to be patient and work on himself.

• Essential tools for life:

CEP has given me essential tools, like GPS (Goal Setting Process), that have helped me plan my day and goals better without worrying about the next day. Using these tools, I can sleep peacefully, give sufficient rest to my body. Thanks to this, my mind works more clearly and efficiently. The Incident Diary and the Time Logger have further helped me stay motivated on my goals and projects. Nothing can make you more joyful than seeing your progress using these tools.

• Make it a family affair:

I truly believe that families running the same business should attend CEP together, even if they are not active. It wasn't easy for my brother and me to connect on a personal and professional level. Still, with CEP and Sameerji's mentoring, we have established an equilibrium wherein we can understand each other. Doing the program together only enables us to speak the same language and be on the same page.

• Failures are opportunities to do better:

I used to run behind alternatives every time there were failures or setbacks. I always looked at our competition and compared our business models. I now understand that it isn't the right way of doing business. It was only after our business collapsed in the pandemic and I discovered SKC, that I'm able to look at failures as opportunities to learn new things, set up new processes, and evolve into the core ideology of the company, rather than looking outside for solutions or trying different stunts to beat the competition. Now I take failures as an opportunity to change my approach towards the task.

• More time to follow my passion:

If we don't observe the fine line between work and life, we mix the two. I now understand the value of having time for myself and my hobbies as a healthy avenue for my inner growth. I always loved traveling but never got the chance to enjoy it fully. Somehow, work somehow always found its way to me on our vacations. Now, I am fully present during my travels and have inspired others to take time off and travel, so much that my friends and batchmates from CEP are encouraging me to document my travel experiences. And I just might do that soon…

• Want to scale up? Be in joy!

Being tense would neither help you nor your people, joy is the only way to go forward. We don't need to look at numbers anymore, they are just parameters. Being joyful and seeing contentment on your people's faces is essential than the numbers to scale up.

• Numbers are a by-product:

While I have evolved as a person, my company has also grown in numbers. FY21 saw our lowest turnover in a decade. However, with my personal evolution and the support of my team members, we were able to achieve our targets by December 2021 itself. For us, it is only onwards and upwards from here. Other than numbers, we have also started hiring top-line members for our company, who would be taking care of all those things that earlier were only Chahat's and my responsibility. My entire focus is only on the right kind of people right now. Our goal is to scale up 5-7 times in the coming five years.?

• Batchmates turned into families:

CEP has given us mentors and friends that have now turned into families. Even though my brother and I had enrolled together, we have always received personal mentorship based on our individual challenges and personalities. Having small batch sizes has only brought all of us together, as we have learned from each other's experiences and realizations. We might not be in touch all the time, but we all know that no matter what the challenge is, help is always around the corner.

• The power to Life Design:

I'm proud of this biggest realization of mine, as I now have a proper structure to my life. Earlier, I didn't have any schedule or fixed working hours. I now spend time in different areas of my life - travel to offbeat places, spend time with my child, have meaningful conversations, and so much more. This was an eye-opening experience for me, and my sole motivation of being competent at work has gone away. I'm much more content in all areas of my life, which is the only motivation that I need right now.

• Won't let my team members walk my path:

I sometimes see my old reflection in my team members in the form of anger and desires. Having experienced that life, I wouldn't like for them to burn themselves out, as I did. If I'm scaling up then it becomes my responsibility to help scale up the lives of those around me, which in turn would make our business and this world a better place to live in. Seeing such a drastic change in me, I don't even need to convince my team members to pursue this program, they themselves want to do it.?

• Inward-out is the correct approach to life:

Only when you first look inwards will you be able to bring about a change in your actions and reactions. You will be able to look at all your anger, hatred, and illusions in a clear manner when you turn inwards. This will improve not only your life but also your relationships. This approach has helped me become grounded as it has given me answers to many of my questions. For me, consciousness is evolving through these challenges and scaling up with awareness.?

Many programs can teach you how to scale up in numbers, but SKC teaches you how to add consciousness to your entrepreneurship, and the whole game changes after that.?

These were my key learnings from this journey which is only getting started. But I would like to emphasize that it is not always that curiosity kills the cat, sometimes it can help you to discover the joy within!